Ancient English synagogue gets reprieve

(JTA) — City planners in the British county of Cornwall have prevented the sale of an abandoned synagogue in the town of Penzance.

The planners in the southern English county decided last week not to authorize a plan to sell the abandoned synagogue, which now is part of a pub named Star Inn, due to noise concerns, according to This is Cornwall, a local newspaper and website.

"There could be a likely increase of level of noise and general disturbance on the site which would be detrimental to nearby properties," a city planner is quoted as saying in explaining the decision to decline a request by the Pubs and Bars company to “redevelop the Star Inn in Penzance” and sell off and demolish a section that includes the remains of the synagogue.

According to a 2008 report by the BBC, the Penzance synagogue shut down in 1850 as Cornish Jews left the county for large cities during the industrial revolution.

Cornwall’s Jewish community, Kehillat Kernow, has 80 members, according to its website.